Aircraft Spruce Is a Proud
Sponsor of the Sebring Expo 2012
Come join Aircraft Spruce in Sebring, Florida (Tent D) on January 19-21 from 9:00am to 5:00pm and January 22 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Take advantage
of some of your favorite products on sale, complimentary ground shipping
(doesn't apply to hazardous or oversize products), and a helpful
Aircraft Spruce staff to answer all your questions. Call
1 (877) 4‑SPRUCE or
visit online.

AVIATION
CONSUMER: LSA SHOPPERS FACE FINANCING CHALLENGESShoppers in
the market for a light sport aircraft have lots of choices, but
according to a report in the February issue of Aviation Consumer,
those choices get thin when it comes to finding a loan. "The LSA
industry is stuck in a Catch-22," the report found, "where low volume of
sales hinders financing, but the impediments to financing hinder sales
volume." The impact of the credit crunch is widely variable.
Well-qualified buyers are most likely to find financing for well-known
LSA models that can show a track record of holding their value. But the
report concludes that financing for less-common models or commercial use
is virtually unavailable. More...

The Nonin 9590 Pulse
Oximeter
Now you can have American-made quality at a new low price.
Personally recommended by pulse oximetry expert Senior AME Brent Blue,
M.D. Trusted Nonin technology and a four-year warranty. Why trust
your life to anything less?

DOMESTIC
DRONE USE SPARKS LAWSUITThe Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) Tuesday filed papers seeking to force the FAA to release
information about use of drone aircraft and the identity of entities
allowed to fly them inside the U.S. above an altitude of 400 feet. That
specific kind of operation requires authorization from the FAA and as
yet, the FAA has not made public any information regarding who has been
granted the authorizations and how those recipients are using approved
aircraft. Last April, the EFF sought records through the Freedom of
Information Act and says it has not seen a response from either the FAA
or the larger DOT. The use of drones in surveillance of U.S. citizens is
not theoretical, according to at least one report. More...

Experience
Trade-A-Plane in a Greater Way!
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or call (800) 337‑5263.

MIDWAY
CONTROLLER CLEARS 737 INTO PATH OF LEARJET (AUDIO)Audio has
been released of an event that took place at Chicago Midway Airport and
appears to show that Midway tower controllers cleared a Southwest 737 to
cross a runway into the path of a jet that was taking off. The event
involved Southwest Flight 844, a Boeing 737, and a Learjet. Together,
the two aircraft carried 85 people. According to the NTSB, "Air traffic
control did not cancel the takeoff clearance of the (Learjet) nor direct
the (Southwest plane) to hold short of Runway 31R," the Washington Post
reported. As the Southwest jet approached the intersection, its crew
spotted the Lear on its departure roll. The Southwest crew stopped short
and "the thing went right over our head." The NTSB calculated separation
at 287 feet with the Lear passing 62 feet overhead. The Southwest crew
then called the tower and may have gotten a response they were not
expecting. More...

AeroExpo UK: 25-27 May
2012AviationExpo Europe: 22-24 June 2012Established, proven, and successful! The exhibitions to attend in
the U.K. and in Europe, whether you are interested in learning to fly or
are already a pilot and want to view the latest products available!
Showcasing all sections of the market, including the latest
aircraft available  from light aircraft or pistons and turboprops
from all the major manufacturers to gliders and power gliders;
AeroExpo UK at Sywell Aerodrome (EGBK) and AviationExpo
Europe at Bitburg Airport (EDRB) has them covered!

HAWKER
BEECH RAMPS UP FIGHT WITH AIR FORCEHawker Beechcraft CEO
Bill Boisture vowed the company will fight vigorously to overturn an Air
Force decision to exclude its AT-6B from the bidding for a light air
support platform. "We won't go away quietly," Boisture said in an
interview. In a podcast
interview with AVweb, he said his company has sold hundreds
of aircraft to the Department of Defense and it has never handled a bid
in the way the LAS competition was dealt with. He said the DOD
constantly changed bid criteria and processes without properly notifying
Hawker Beechcraft and finally excluded the AT-6B from the competition
days before awarding the deal to Embraer and its Super Tucano. Hawker
Beechcraft has filed suit in Federal Claims Court alleging the bid was
mishandled by the DOD. More...

BOMBARDIER
WICHITA EXPANSION ANNOUNCEDBombardier formally announced
expansion plans for its Wichita facilities Tuesday, saying it will add
about 450 jobs as it ramps up for production of the Learjet 85. At a
news conference, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said he said the state was
providing $16 million in incentives toward the expansion, which will
start with a $52.7 million for paint, preflight and delivery facilities.
The city and county governments in Wichita are chipping in $1 million
each. That's in addition to the $600 million the company has already
sunk into development and infrastructure for the Learjet 85.
More...

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Fly More for
Less
Visit the AVbuys page for discounts, rebates, incentives,
bargains, special offers, bonus depreciation, or tax benefits to help
stretch your budget. We're helping you to locate and view current offers
instantly, with a direct link to sponsors' web sites for details.

AVweb's latest "FBO of the Week" is Orzel
Aviation Services at St. Clair County International Airport
(PHN) in Port Huron, Michigan.

AVweb reader Hella
Comat explains how the Orzel team bent over backward to make a
recent visit outstanding:

Sue
and Rick at Orzel couldn't have been more helpful or friendlier. They
were able to arrange overnight hangarage, accept a shipped parcel for
me, find out about taxi services, and generally be as accommodating as
possible on my recent stop there. Thanks so much!

Traditional Tactics Need a
Fresh Approach
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition
of insanity. Isn't it time to initiate a digital marketing program with
AVweb that will deliver traffic and orders directly to
your web site? Discover several new and highly successful marketing
options to use in lieu of static print or banner campaigns.
Click now for details.

VIDEO:
GOT AN OILY HANGAR FLOOR? THIS STUFF CAN SPRUCE IT UPMany of
us dream of a gleaming gray expoxy-coated hangar floor illuminated by
the glare of bright lights. But most of us actually have oil-stained
concrete, dingy from years of abuse. If your floor is stained badly, a
product called ReKrete can help improve it. Aviation Consumer's
Paul Bertorelli demonstrates the product in this brief video.
More...

VIDEO:
F-106 CORN FIELD BOMBER, CONVAIR DELTA DARTThis is
an unusual story. The jet you're looking at is an F-106 Delta Dart. A
storied interceptor in its day, it was built to exceed an Air Force
requirement for 1.9 mach and continuous flight at 57,000 feet. It did
both. And in December 1959, it set a speed record, of 1,525 mph, or
about 2.3 mach, while flying at 40,000 feet. Its pilot at the time,
Major Joseph Rogers, claimed the record might not be accurate. He was
still accelerating, he said, at the time. But this particular jet is
famous for a different reason. More...

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the
latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on
AVweb, the
world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The
AVwebFlash team is:

PublisherTimothy Cole

Editorial Director,
Aviation PublicationsPaul
Bertorelli

Editor-in-ChiefRuss Niles

Contributing
EditorsMary GradyGlenn Pew

WebmasterScott Simmons

ContributorsKevin Lane-CummingsJeff Van West

Advertising Director,
Associate PublisherTom
Bliss

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